A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Date set for inquest into missing woman's 'probable death'
A coroner has set a date for the hearing of an inquest into the “probable death” of a Dublin woman who went missing from a Dublin hospital more than 30 years ago.
Alice Clifford (57) of Cremona Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, went missing from St Loman’s Hospital in west Dublin on November 28th, 1979. She was never found.
Dr Kieran Geraghty said at Dublin County Coroner’s Court yesterday that “it was an unusual case” and that, at the request of Mrs Clifford’s family and with the permission of the Minister of Justice, he was opening an inquiry to establish whether she was still alive or dead.
He set a date next week for the inquest.
Irishman dies in Johannesburg
An Irishman died yesterday in Johannesburg while on a business trip to South Africa.
Pat Gallagher, in his early 50s, from Doobally, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, owned an equestrian centre at Ballyshannon, and had widespread business interests including industrial pipe fabrication.
He was married and had five children. He collapsed and died at OR Tambo airport after taking ill.
Workers to be laid off after plant fire
The operators of the Woodfab timber plant in Aughrim, Co Wicklow said yesterday most of its 65 workers are to be laid off temporarily as a result of last Sunday’s fire there.
The company’s main timber processing plant was gutted in the 10-hour blaze and that has had a knock-on effect on all operations at the factory complex.
Gardaí yesterday ruled out foul play as a cause of the fire.
Gas premises searched in Derry
Police were yesterday searching the premises of a gas retailer in Coleraine in connection with the deaths of two teens who died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in a holiday apartment in Co Derry last week.
This followed a call by the PSNI on Monday for anyone with gas appliances which had been worked on by George Brown of The Calor Shop in the town to switch them off immediately. Mr Brown has not commented. The Calor Shop is a separate legal entity to Calor Gas NI Ltd.
The HSE believes a gas appliance in the apartment in Castlerock where the boys died was defective.
An aunt of one of the teenagers, who owns the apartment, said yesterday she had felt ill on previous occasions after staying there. Aaron Davidson’s aunt, Yvonne Best, told BBC: “I never thought it was anything to do with the apartment, just my own personal health.”